Renault Aims to Kill Alpine

While some automakers struggle to get through the crisis and call for support from their local governments, French manufacturer Renault is apparently planning to kill the sporty Alpine brand. It seems like the company also plans to discontinue the new model supposed to be released under the Alpine brand, Autocar informed us today citing chief operating officer Patrick Pelata. According to this source, Pelata commented Renault's decision to cancel Alpine, adding that it was only a measure imposed by the economic recession.

"It's a casualty of the [economic] crisis," Pelata was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source, giving us a glimpse into how the Renault Alpine plans may sound.

As mentioned, it may seem like Renault is already considering cancelling the model designed under the Alpine brand that was initially expected to share the same platform with the new Nissan 200SX. Renault sources said in early February that Renault-Nissan plans to cancel the 200SX concept, citing the economic recession and the altering market conditions as the reason.

In addition, Patrick Pelata also confirmed that Renault temporarily idled plans to move production to Chenai, India.

Renault is one of the French automakers that demanded support from the domestic government to continue its efforts in the green car sector and maintain its local operations. France approved in early February a 3 billion package to domestic automakers.

“We are very pleased with the loan granted to us by the French government. In light of the exceptional crisis impacting our entire industry, access to credit was indispensable for supporting our activity and that of the automotive industry. It will also enable us to pursue our developments and investments in sustainable mobility,” Carlos Ghosn, President of Renault, said.